An elevator accident that killed a tour guide and trapped a group of tourists for hours at a former Colorado gold mine last year was caused by “operator error,” authorities said Wednesday.
The Teller County Sheriff's Office provides details of what went wrong in a news release announcing the results of the investigation into the Oct. 10 death of Patrick Weier, 46, at Molly Kathleen Gold Mine. I didn't.
However, investigators determined there was no equipment failure and the mine met state regulations, the sheriff's office said in a news release.
The incident occurred while an elevator was descending into a mine in the mountains near Colorado Springs.
Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said at the time that the person operating the elevator about 500 feet from the ground “saw something unusual” and stopped the elevator.
The elevator was still operational and those on board at the time of the incident were pulled up within 20 minutes.
The elevator door broke when going up.
“We don’t know if the door malfunctioned or if something else happened.
“There’s a lot going on in this little elevator,” he said at the time. “All we know is that the door was broken in for some reason.”
A second group of 12 adults was trapped at the bottom of the mine, 1,000 feet underground, while engineers checked to see if the elevator was operational.
Immediately after the incident, Mikesell said Weier's death was caused by a problem with the elevator, not a medical issue.
The sheriff's office said in an update that the incident was ruled an accident and has been closed.
It is not explained what happened to Wyer or how he died.
He had young children and was from the nearby town of Victor, Colorado.
Lt. Renee Bunting, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office, declined to provide further details and told reporters to file a records request for more information.
The mine was close to closing at the time of the accident, but is expected to reopen during this year's tourist season, the sheriff's office said.
State mining regulators had ordered the mine closed and no tours until it was determined whether it was in compliance.
It is unclear when the mine will reopen.
The mine's website prominently features a photo of Mr. Wyer and a link to a fundraiser for his son, but on Thursday it said the mine was closed indefinitely and no one was answering its phone calls. There is.
